The Index -|-
Thoka settled back on her throne. The seat cupped her back and sides comfortably, and the small platform the throne rested on swayed gently with her movement – just like a boat on calm water. In the distance, Kpleeb and the villagers ran in various directions as the strange natives pressed the battle closer and closer to the village center. They seemed to disorganized.
These new warriors reminded her of the enigmatic and rarely seen death whites back home on the slopes of wet mountain. These were shorter, but they had a similar facial style that intrigued her. She had seen a few of them up close and determined that their faces were painted to match each of the other warriors. They were painted in such a way to make them appear uniformly white and angular. Above each eye was another eye, open and painted in blue. She remembered how blue the eyes of the death whites were, and wondered if there was any relation. Even after much observation, she was not sure if the paint was a religious symbol or something else entirely.
She was, however, certain that these warriors were fierce and formidable enemies. Over the course of the last few weeks, she had watched them as they destroyed a village on the tundra past the upper-canyon. Every person, cavewomen and children included, had been slaughtered. They were utterly ruthless, but the worst part was that the warriors took only the shiniest objects, no matter how small. Food, bodies, and other items were left where they fell. It made no sense to her, but she thought that finding their home village would help her understand them much better.
After that battle, they had scattered into the trees with such skill that she lost their trail. She had wanted to follow them home today, wherever that was, but they had begun to attack Kilow’s village. Now, things had spun out of control, and it appeared that the entire village would soon be overrun. The strange warriors were efficient and beastly in their tactics, and despite Molk’s size and his large group of trained warriors, it was clear to her that they could not stand in the path of the horde.
Thoka clenched her fist and adjusted the various bracelets that adorned her wrists, elbows, and knees. She rotated her eyepiece and stared at the village.
I can’t let Kpleeb die… but it wouldn’t hurt him to think that he might be in real danger. A part of her deep inside felt guilty for risking his life for such a petty thing. She sighed to herself and pressed an actuator-rod to the side with her foot. Her throne wobbled, jolted forward and began to pick up speed. As she neared the tree line that surrounded the village, the cries of battle grew louder. Through the chaos she heard Kpleeb cry out.
Thoka swept aside the trees in front of her with a gesture. She felt the tug of her bracelets as the invisible forces aligned with the environment and pressured it to move. The trees ahead of her cracked and swayed. As the largest tree fell in front of her, she caught a glimpse of Kpleeb covered in blood, falling. Anger swept over her, and she lashed out.
With a flick of her wrist, she swatted the warrior that had struck Kpleeb in the head. The warrior’s body was violently tossed aside like a ragdoll. Though she was still many paces away from the battle, Thoka heard a sickening crunch as the body landed at the base of a nearby tree. Some of the warriors had been swept aside by her attack, and many, but not all, of the white warriors turned to face her. There was no apparent fear behind the horde of unblinking, blue eyes that stared at her.
Thoka bared her teeth ferociously and touched the stone necklace that hung around her neck. For a split second, there was a thrum of deep notes that crackled through the air around her. Her ears popped, and she grasped her pregnant belly with her left arm.
“Aaargh!” she growled emphatically. It would be a feeble noise in most circumstances, but the necklace amplified her voice through the body of her throne. Nearby shrubberies shook with the deafening snarl that emanated from her person. Kpleeb did not stir, but all of the village cavechildren flung themselves to the ground and covered their ears. The painted warriors stood unflinching, but she smiled as the remainder of them turned to face her.
I have your attention now.
The throne was still moving steadily toward the village. Thoka had tested its speed and maneuverability, but knew that a speedy attack required speedy defenses as well. She was not feeling incredibly quick at the moment.
No offense, little one. I will regain my reflexes when you are born.
She patted her belly and watched the strange warriors spread out before her. Thoka waited for their first moves, and tensed when she reached the range of their spears. The warriors waited, but she saw several bounce on the balls of their feet. Soon, she was close enough for even the scrawniest caveperson to hit her with a spear.
It was then that they launched in unison.
Thoka sucked in a deep breath as the spears left the hands of the white warriors. Time slowed, and she raised her left hand. Around her wrist was a curvaceous and intricate bracelet that wrapped twice and then extended into her palm. The section that wrapped her wrist was lined with tiny rods. She swung her wrist downward sharply, and the spears were scattered and splintered as if they had encountered a glass wall.
She retaliated with the right hand, and the ground at the feet of the warriors burst upward with a thunderous roar. Thoka clenched her fist tightly and brought it downward. All of the warriors in the center were thrown down and pummeled with clods of dirt and rocks. Through the dust, she saw Molk swinging wildly at nearby warriors. A few that were near the edges scrambled to their feet and began to attack Molk. One or two began to drag pale bodies away through the haze.
She struck again with a downward twist of her fingers, and the figures who fled were flatted against the ground. She did not wait to see if they stopped moving but instead turned toward Molk. He had clearly been badly injured during the extended battle and was no longer holding his own. His huge arms faltered, and the warriors pressed in. Molk and Kpleeb would be overrun at any moment.
Thoka stood carefully and leaned forward in concern. Though she could wield the invisible forces, she could not do so with any particular finesse. All of her time has been spent creating and testing rods and other devices to use the knowledge she had gained. Almost none of the time had been dedicated to practice.
Molk fought only one step in front of Kpleeb’s body, and Thoka felt renewed dismay as the warriors pressed him with terrible fury. Those nearest her slowly approaching throne grouped up and rushed with spears while a smaller group tried to flank her. Thoka saw Kpleeb stir as the women named Bre bent over him.
He is alive. I have to end this battle now!
She struck hard with her fist and shattered the group of warriors that rushed at her. There was a high-pitched cry of pain from one of them. She had never heard one of them acknowledge pain, but saw that the warrior’s elbow bent backward an impossible angle. Blood flowed from the torn skin and bone. Only three of the five warriors attempted to rise, albeit slowly.
Thoka screamed loudly in a piercing shriek and then lashed out with a powerful sideways swat. The warriors and Molk were hurled to the side, and Thoka saw that Bre was also pummeled and fell over and away from Kpleeb. Molk lay motionless face down a few meters from where he once fought.
Just then, Thoka felt her throne dip as weight was applied to it from behind her. She threw her hands up and ducked. A springy, wooden spear pierced the air where her head had been, and she saw the warrior topple over and back onto the ground as her blocking movement shoved him away. With another shrill yell, she spun and crushed the warrior before he could rise. There was a gooey pop as his ribs caved in. The other two warriors circled her as if daring her to defeat them.
They never seem to give up, Thoka sighed internally, but I’ll make them fear me.
She stood, and stepped onto the ground. Her pregnant belly was awkward, and she exaggerated her steps purposefully. The two warriors split up to remain on opposite sides of Thoka, and she rotated with them in her peripheral sight. She reached up and touched her necklace, deactivating her amplifier before speaking.
“Come,” she said simply, looking first at one warrior and then the other.
Without a sound they rushed in simultaneously with spears held low and ready for an upward thrust.
Thoka drew on the well of invisible forces that were always around her and judged the timing carefully. She then stepped back. The warriors tried to adjust, but her at first indiscernible grip held them on course. Their spear tips crossed paths and continued. The pale warriors watched, wide eyed as each impaled the other. Their faces paired in a twin rictus of pain and shock.
Thoka smiled viciously and slammed their faces together with one immense blow. Blood spattered heavily on her arms, belly, and legs. The bodies slumped almost silently to the ground.
Silent until the end, Thoka thought as she turned toward the group of villagers.
With a brutal efficiency, Thoka crushed each warrior as they came. None who were uninjured fled, and she killed or injured every warrior that attacked. When she finally stood over Kpleeb and Bre, he was still breathing, and Thoka felt satisfied at the fear that exuded from Bre. She turned her head and saw that Molk was slowly sitting up. In the background, behind Bre, Chief Kilow murmured over a few terrified cavechildren.
She reached out with a bare foot and nudged Kpleeb’s body roughly. “I’m back, Kpleeb,” said Thoka in a steely voice. “Time to wake up.”
